Announcing Superfactory e-Learning

If you want the news quick, check blogs first.  We at Superfactory just learned that the hard way when at least two blogs scooped us on our own announcement!  So much for a nice quiet roll out so we can test the scalability of our new product!

We have just launched the Superfactory Learning Center, which is a series of fourteen online e-learning modules on the core concepts of lean manufacturing.  To help offset server and admin expenses of the website we have offered PowerPoint training downloads and toolkits for the last few years.  The new online modules take our knowledge products to the next level.

The program was developed exclusively for us by a PhD in Learning Systems who manages learning systems for a Fortune-50 company and happens to teach lean manufacturing at a major university.  Each module is a combined audio and visual presentation designed to take approximately sixty minutes, but is self-paced and the system will remember where the student left off if he or she has to leave.  They are SCORM-compliant to conform to the primary e-learning guidelines, and require no hardware or software besides a relatively recent internet browser.

The modules begin with an introduction, then a brief history of the concept, details and application, and finally a knowledge check.  Upon successful completion of the interactive knowledge check an email confirming successful completion can be sent to the student and a training coordinator, which satisfies ISO and other regulatory requirements.

Obviously nothing can substitute for the hands-on knowledge gained through a long-term sustained lean transformation effort.  However this new program is ideal to help give new employees an introduction to the fundamental concepts, allow motivated employees to learn new concepts on their own, and help remote employees and individuals obtain basic training without having to incur significant travel expense.

Initial modules include a lean overview, 5S and visual factory, cellular manufacturing, jidoka, kaizen, poka yoke and mistake proofing, 3P, pull manufacturing, JIT, kanban, quick changeover, standard work, theory of constraints, total productive maintenance, and value streams. Over time we will be adding new enterprise, office, quality, and design topics to the e-learning curriculum.

Visit the new Online Learning Center here.